We impose our own meanings

The reason for the popularity of dinosaurs is that their symbolism is flexible enough to accommodate a vast range of meanings.

• Dinosaurs became extinct, and that story resonates with the apocalyptic traditions of the Zoroastrian, Judaic, Christian, and Islamic religions.
• Their size and power suggest empires and battles of a huge scale. The view that some dinosaurs survived to become birds suggests a sort of angelic elect that will be saved.
• Secular views have changed the meaning of dinosaurs. The apocalyptic associations could be used to express the terror of a nuclear holocaust or ecological collapse.
• Dinosaurs have also been used to comment on human violence, innocence, wealth, failure, and many more.